5 stylish light therapy lamps to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder

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Late fall brings Thanksgiving, often at least a dusting of snow, and shorter days thanks to daylight saving time. And for some, fewer hours of daylight also means the return of SAD, or seasonal affective disorder. (Which, for any doubters out there, is a real thing. Here’s what Harvard and the Mayo Clinic have to say about it.)

One effective way to combat seasonal depression is light therapy, the practice of sitting in front of a light box for at least 30 minutes each day, preferably at the beginning of the day. These boxes typically emit 10,000 lux (lux is a unit of luminance), a level about 100 times brighter than standard indoor lighting.

When it works, it’s a relatively easy and affordable way to beat the winter blues. The only hitch for New Yorkers is that most of our living spaces have little room for items with a single, limited function, so if a SAD light comes into an apartment, it better look good.

That’s why we went in search of lights to treat seasonal affective disorder that are also attractive in one way or another—and many are on sale for Black Friday. (These make great holiday gifts!)

The first light therapy lamp to offer three levels of brightness and two colors of light, the new HappyLight Touch is by Verilux, a Vermont-based company that’s been in the “quest for sunlight indoors” for more than 50 years.